Is it safe to play bingo online?
Among the feedback we get, one question is repeated more than others combined: Is online bingo safe? This not only the most popular question we get asked, but in our opinion it is the the most important question, which is why we are now going to dedicate this whole article to answering it.
Common fears and reality
Most of the fears people have toward playing bingo or any other game for money online stem from the mid 1990s. At the time internet was a wild place where just about anything could happen. Fears that surfaced a decade ago during that wild time still linger in our minds, even though a lot (if not everything) has changed since. To update everybody’s knowledge of online safety issues we gathered some common questions and answer them below.
Are online money transfers safe?
To put it bluntly: yes. Use any of our recommended money transfer methods and you can be sure that your money transfers are secure. Security of online payments is something that has been hugely improved over the years to the 100% safe level where it is now. We can thank huge companies like Visa and Neteller for this, as they have invested heavily in it over the last decade.
We know it may feel a bit insecure transferring monies to or from a bingo site, but remember that in reality you are protected by the very best in encryption technology. This means your payment details will remain like they should: completely private.
More information and our recommended methods of transferring money can be found in this article.
I really want to pay and withdraw without using my credit card. Can I?
Yes you can. You can pay and withdraw without credit card by using Neteller, FirePay, 900Pay.
Neteller is a company whose only business is safe online payments. They process over 3 billion dollars in transactions each year.
With FirePay your deposits are deducted straight from your own bank account and with 900Pay the amounts you deposit to bingo sites are added to your phone bill.
See our depositing and withdrawing guide for more details.
Can online bingo sites be trusted?
Assuming you choose your site sensibly, absolutely.
All our recommended sites are owned by large and reputable companies, and have proven track record of 100% trustworthy operating. To get a glimpse of how big companies we are talking about, Party Bingo, our number one recommendation, is owned by Party Gaming, which is currently valued at about 10 billion dollars in the London stock exchange. Big companies like these have to operate as honestly, if not more so, as big companies in any other business. In addition to being owned by big, reputable companies, all our recommended sites are also fully licensed by governments of the jurisdictions they operate from.
And remember - Bingo is in the safest of all the online games, thanks to it’s highly social nature. It wouldn’t make sense trying to scam bingo players, as word travels from player to player so fast, that any site trying something like that would be out of business in no time.
Phishing - what is it and how does it concern me?
Phishing (”fishing”) is the one remaining safety issue which you should be fully aware of! Phishing can be defined as being “attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information”, or in simpler terms: phishing is asking politely. It may sound amazing, but about 20% of people are willing to just give their sensitive information (passwords, credit card details) away just because somebody asks for it!
Avoiding phishing is simple. If somebody asks you by email to send a reply with credit card details, passwords or any other sensitive information, or to visit a site to enter such information, don’t do it! Thats all there is to it. No bingo or any other site will ever ask you for your details again after registering, so it is very simple to see that any requests for such information should be ignored.
Conclusion
Play at well known sites, ignore phishing attempts if they occur and you’re safe!
In real life vast majority of people never encounter any safety problems online. If you want to learn more about this subject, we suggest you visit Safeshopping.org.
